


Kurohanchi

by Ricky B (littletoes101)



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Cats, Dogs, F/M, Half-bloods, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-04-21
Updated: 2011-04-21
Packaged: 2017-10-16 01:09:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littletoes101/pseuds/Ricky%20B
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where Ciel Phantomhive, lead of the Black Lands half-blood army thrives, a dangerous new menace arrives to overtake his throne... NO EDITING DONE YET. CRITICIZE THE HELL OUT OF IT, GUYS. YAOI.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Characters and The Discovery

**Kurohanchi: Black Half-Blood**

 **Kuroshitsuji fan-novel**

 **Characters**

 _Ciel Phantomhive-_ leader of the Black Lands and a half-Japanese bobtail half-blood, he has blue-gray hair, one dark blue eye and one violet eye (covered by eye patch) that conceals the Faustian contract between himself and Sebastian, pale skinned; in his half-blood form he has blue-gray fur with white tora-ge (two circles above the eyes, white paws, white underlegs and underbelly, white chest, white on his hind legs and on the underside of the tail, white muzzle connected to the white on his chest) markings, and a curled tail due to a mutation in the genes of his tail.

 _Sebastian Michaelis_ -butler to Ciel and the later second leader of the Black Lands and a demon half-mixed breed cheetah-bobcat half-blood, he has black hair, red eyes, and a mark on his left hand (hands are covered by white gloves) that conceals the Faustian contract between himself and Ciel, pale skinned; in his half-blood form he has black fur with red tabby markings all over his body and white paws and chest—the tabby markings extend to the white, and he has rings on his tail and long tufts at the end of his ears.

 _Grell Sutcliff_ -a former bear-dog and a "created Shinigami," he is the assassin of the Black Lands and close friend (future mate) to Will and a half-husky half-blood, he has red hair, green eyes (pupils surrounded by a darker green), and metal back legs that have a layer of short, fuzzy fur on them to conceal them in his half-blood form (he does not have them in his human form), a result of testing by the scientists, and shark-like sharp teeth; in his half-blood form he is a red-furred husky with light cream markings on his face, chest, underbelly, under the tail, and his legs—he has very sharp teeth in this form as well, and has an unnaturally deep voice thanks to further testing (only has a deep voice in his dog form—never in his regular form), and he wears a brown collar with a silver metal plate on it displaying his name.

 _William T. Spears_ -a former bear-dog and a "born Shinigami," he is the tracker of the Black Lands and a close friend (future mate) to Grell and a half-Labrador retriever half-blood, he has smooth brownish-black hair, green eyes (pupils surrounded by a slightly darker green—his eyes in general are a bit lighter than Grell's), and metal nails given to him by the scientists; in his half-blood form he is a chocolate colored Lab with a large black patch on his head, back, tail, and underbelly—he has metal claws instead of nails in this form, and he wears a black collar with artificial studs and a silver metal plate similar to Grell's, displaying his name.

 _Elizabeth "Lizzy" Middleford_ -cousin to Ciel and his supposed-to-be fiancé, she is the medicine apprentice to Liz and a half-Papillion half-blood with curly blonde hair, bright green eyes and a rather high voice; in her half-blood form she has golden-yellow fur with a small white dash on her chest and white paws and cream colored eye patches.

 _Ronald Knox_ -a former hunting dog and a "born Shinigami" that escaped from the lab at an early age, he is the lead hunter and fairly young, and he is a half-Savannah cat half-blood, with scruffy blonde hair and a black colored second "layer" of hair and bold green eyes; in his half-blood form he has golden colored fur with black spots and black ticking with a splash of white on his nose—he also wears a necklace with an emerald at the end given to him by his former owner.

 _Elizabeth "Liz" Bradley_ -a very mysterious girl, she is the medicine cat and is also very close to all of the high-ranking members of the Black Lands, yet not many people know much about her, and she is a half-Siberian tiger half-blood, with curly dark brown hair and dark brown eyes and tanned skin; in her half-blood form she has dark brown fur with tora-ge markings (see "Ciel Phantomhive") and has a curled tail like Ciel due to a malformation in the tail—she also wears a collar with a cross on it instead of a tag.

 _Claude Faustus_ -leader of the Red Rebellion (Aka no hanran, A.H), he is a very strong, yet hot-headed half-blood and he is a demon half-jaguar half-blood, with black hair and golden eyes and very pale skin, and gloves over his hands conceal the Faustian contract on his left hand similar to Sebastian's—his eyes often have a crazed look, since his pupils are often dilated and his iris sometimes also becomes very small; in his half-blood form, he has pure, shimmering, beautiful black fur and piercing golden eyes, and he is well-muscled and fast—he has no black spots

 _Alois Trancy_ -second leader of the A.H and mate to Claude, he is a small but lithe and a rather bratty half-leopard half-blood, with blonde hair and light blue eyes and pale skin, and the Faustian contract between himself and Claude is displayed on his tongue; in his half-blood form, he is a small golden furred leopard with slightly darker blonde rosettes and slightly darker eyes than in his human form

 _The Undertaker-_ neither on the side of the Black Lands nor the A.H, Undertaker is a retired "created Shinigami," the only other created Shinigami besides Grell, and is the only non-mammal half-blood, being a half-Great Gray owl half-blood, with long gray hair and supposedly green eyes, although the color of his eyes is never really revealed; in his half-blood form, his gray is a light gray underneath his wings and on his chest, and a darker gray everywhere else, and his eyes are the signature orange of the Great Gray.

 **Chapter One**

 **The Discovery**

Ciel hissed in annoyance as the bird he was stalking fluttered away, startled by a noise from the bushes. Growling, Ciel pounced on them, and there was a startled yap from under him. A small Papillion cowered beneath him.

"Lizzy?" Ciel growled, and released his frightened cousin. The bright-eyed Papillion glanced up at him, and her tail began to wag.

"Ciel!" getting up, Lizzy nuzzled the unsuspecting Ciel, who stiffened at her touch.

"What are you doing out here?" Ciel sighed, sitting down. "You scared off my bird, you know."

Lizzy angrily stomped her paw. "Liz sent me out here to hunt. She said I was being a distraction while she was trying to fix Ronald's ankle; he sprained it while he was racing one of the apprentices again. She said "Go make yourself useful and hunt," but I don't know how!"

 _That was obvious,_ Ciel thought, but he shook it from his head and studied her for a second. "Well, tell her I sent you back because you couldn't catch anything. Don't worry; I'm sure the patrol will get enough." He nudged the young dog to her feet and watched as she wagged her tail in thanks and slipped off through the bushes, and Ciel turned, sighing. He started off towards the deeper parts of the woods to see if anything else was available, when a sudden flash of black and red stopped him.

"Did you loose this,  _bocchan_?" Standing there was Sebastian, the lost bird hanging limp in his jaws. Dropping it at Ciel's feet, the cat grinned. "I shall return it to you."

Picking the bird up by the wing, Ciel shrugged it to his shoulders. "Go back and get the other prey I caught." Without bothering to tell him where it was, he slipped the bird back into his mouth and started off towards the main camp.

Even though his vision and scent was slightly distorted, Ciel could tell where the camp was by the sudden assault of scents through his nose, penetrable even through the warm, musty odor of the bird and the leafy scent of the forest. After picking his way through the fence that guarded them from the outside, he arrived at the "camp," a huge kind of front yard for a tall, beautiful mansion that towered many yards away. Inside the camp were the main residents of the "Black Lands," the territory of the Half-Blood lands of which Ciel controlled; there were hundreds of half-bloods, big and small, and of many different kinds. Right now, when the sun was at its highest point, it was time for congregation and a large lunch of sorts.

Dropping off the bird at the storage place, Ciel shrunk into the shadows and slipped into a crack in a large, cool stone rock, padding deep into the back. A large Sumatran tiger guarded the entrance into the main den, but he dipped his head as Ciel passed. Nodding approval to the larger animal, Ciel slipped past him, and his nose was met by the comforting scent of herbs—the reason for his comfort was that the herbs reminded him of tea, his favorite drink. Sitting at the very back was a huge brown tiger, with the same markings as he, but her coat was lined with the thick black stripes that marked her heritage.

"Good afternoon," Liz purred, turning her brown eyes to acknowledge him. "I hope you're not sick, are you Ciel?"

The cat shook his blue-gray muzzle, before turning to the cots at the right side of the den. A black and yellow Savannah cat slept, his long body stretched out across it, one paw heavily covered in cobwebs and kept in place with two twigs.

"It looks like Ronald got into a fight with a tree stump again," Ciel sighed, shaking his head. How this cat injured himself all the time and yet still managed to catch more prey than everyone else baffled him.

"He sure did," Liz chuckled, her tail "wagging" from side to side. "Boys will be boys though. All we can hope for is that he'll get more responsible with age." She shuffled over to the medicine shelves, taking a sniff of the herbs to make sure they were all still fresh.

"While I have your attention," Ciel meowed, causing Liz to turn and look at him. "Did you happen to send Lizzy out to hunt?"

"Why yes," Liz replied, licking a paw. "Whatsit to you?"

"She can't hunt to save her life."

"I know that."

"Then why did you send her out there?"

Liz just closed her eyes and laughed. "I believe in learning on the job. I didn't have anyone to teach me how to hunt, and look at me now!" puffing her chest out, she straightened her back and neck. She seemed almost like royalty—beautiful and regal.

Unimpressed, Ciel narrowed his eyes. "Could you please try to teach her something before you just throw her out there again?"

Liz closed her eyes and purred, "I'll try."

Ciel then switched from his cat form to his human form, letting out a breath of air as he flexed his cramped muscles. "Anyway, I need the poppy seeds."

Smiling, Liz pulled a jar of small black seeds from the shelf and settled them in front of Ciel. "If I weren't smart, I'd say you have an addiction." Frowning, Ciel grabbed the jar and pulled out two of the tiny seeds, dropping them on his tongue and then swallowing them.

"Keep up the good work," Ciel murmured, squeezing out of the entrance and into the sunlight. Sighing happily, Ciel went to his favorite lookout place—a tall, strong tree that overlooked the entire camp. Climbing to his "sitting branch," Ciel stretched out across the limb, resting his head on his crossed arms, slowly blinking as he watched the camp. His solitary dark blue eye fell on a large red and cream husky who was stretched out long-ways in the sun, a few rays of light glinting off of his red glasses and silver plate on his collar. In the long grass to the right of him was Lizzy, who was stalking towards him.  _She must be practicing,_ Ciel thought, rolling carefully onto his stomach and straightening to watch the scene.

The yellow and white puppy was obviously trying to do her best, but the red dog had already been alerted of her presence by the wind. He could smell her, so when she pounced, the husky simply rolled onto his back, evading capture.

Landing on the ground with an "oof," Lizzy looked angrily at Grell. "Hey! What was that?"

Sitting up, the husky turned his green gaze to the pup. "I scented you, so I moved out of your way."

"I was  _hunting_ you! Couldn't you have  _let_ me catch you?" Lizzy huffed, shaking dust from her coat.

"No." replied Grell flatly.

"Why-y?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer!"

"It is in my world."

"Not in mine!"

"Hey, you two!" the two arguing dogs turned to see Sebastian strolling across the clearing, two mice hanging from his jaws by their tails and a vole and a thrush on his shoulders. The large cat dropped off his prey at the food storage place, then moved menacingly over to Lizzy and Grell. "Don't fight amongst yourselves," he hissed. "We're supposed to rely on each other, not fight with each other."

"Sebastian!" Grell's mood instantly brightened as he leaned under Sebastian, tail wagging furiously. Leaning up, he murmured in his ear; "Make her go away, she's bothering me." Sebastian acknowledged his claim with a flick of his long, rounded tail, and Grell flipped onto his back, tail still wagging almost uncontrollably.

Nudging Lizzy with his broad head, his reddish-orange eyes met Lizzy's bright green ones. "Why don't you go and see if Liz will give you some hunting lessons? I would say check with Ronald, but he can't really hunt right now. Liz is the next best; perhaps you'll learn something."

Lizzy grinned and nodded. "Okay!" Turning, she ran off towards the medicine den, and Sebastian sighed and shook his head.

"Of all the pups in the world…" Sebastian turned, letting his eyes wander to the tree in which Ciel was watching. The boy had a small grin on his face, and Sebastian ran to the tree, climbing it with surprising ease and resting beside Ciel.

"She's quite the character isn't she?" Ciel asked, his dark blue eye sparkling. "She never does seem to realize that she's a nuisance."

Sebastian managed a slight chuckle, before becoming serious again. " _Bocchan,_ I found something rather alarming by the edge of our boarder."

Suddenly shifting uncomfortably, Ciel turned his head to face his butler. "What is it?"

"A scent, one not of our own. I could tell that it was a male, a large panther. There was also something more…"

"And what would that be?"

Sebastian's ears pinned against the side of his head, a good way to tell that the mixed breed was unsettled. "It was a demon."

Ciel was quiet for a moment, and he felt the hair along his neck and spine instinctively start to rise. "Investigate immediately. Waste no time, Sebastian."

A small smile went across the cat's face. "Yes, my Lord."

However, unknown to the other two, two pairs of eyes were watching them, one golden and one blue. Turning from his spot on the overlooking rock and nudging the blonde leopard beside him, Claude grinned.

"Did you hear that Alois? They've scented us."

Alois's lips drew back in a sneer-like smile, showing all of his white teeth. "They've only scented you, Claude."

Claude shrugged. "We've been together for so long, our scent is basically the same." The panther looked out across the land again. "We're getting closer Alois. First we took out Rachel and Vincent Phantomhive, and the matriarchs of the Michaelis and Sutcliff families destroyed themselves—I'm surprised it was that easy to get Zak to comply with me—I'm even more surprised that kid ended up killing him, but oh well. He won't be much of an enemy now; we want the main prize—to take out Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis."

It did not take long for Sebastian to carry out the order that Ciel gave him. Sebastian didn't go alone though—he took Grell and Will, not for their company, but for their excellent sense of tracking. Even though Grell could sometimes be annoying with his constant swooning, and Will hated him, their experience as bear-dogs was a key element in tracking down this other demon. Even though Sebastian had no idea what this intruders intentions where, he had to be careful. This demon could be potentially dangerous or unstable—a "rouge demon" as they were called.

After going to the original site of the scent, Grell and Will had begun their search. A good thing about them was that they would never stop tracking a scent until it ended or until they found what they were looking for. Regular distractions such as talking or another scent could wait, and it was pushed far from their minds. Both of the dog's heads were down, sniffing through the undergrowth, each on his own path, but yet strangely coordinated. Every paw step was with the others—they never lost track of each other, even without looking at each other. It was as though they had some sort of connection to each other, that didn't require eyes. Suddenly, both stopped, hackles raised. Will let out a low growl as he raised his head.

"The scent is fresher here," he said lowly, turning to face Sebastian. "He was here about five minutes ago. He couldn't have gone far; perhaps he's still here." Grell had his long red muzzle lifted to the air, sniffing, turning his head to the left, then the right, then back to the left again before slowly approaching a tree. He was crouched low, and his legs were lifted high, like a blind dog or a stalking cat.

"Stay low," he murmured, in his low, growly voice. "Don't move." Suddenly, he leaned against the tree and let out frenzied barks, aiming them at the treetops. As though planned, a huge black blur came from the trees and landed directly behind Grell, who spun around to face him, lips curled back, showing his large sharp teeth.

"Well, well, well," the panther purred, flicking his tail. "Who do we have here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Unlike Will and Grell, who were standing low and stiff with every hair on their body raised, Sebastian was standing calmly now in his human form, his head held high above the other cat's.

"Well, I guess I'd better answer your question before you answer mine." The panther began to pace around Sebastian's legs, soft, black fur brushing up against his pale white skin. "I am Claude Faustus, leader of the Red Rebellion,  _Aka no hanran,_ and I am here to kill you." Despite this threat, Sebastian sat calmly, undaunted.

"And you planned to do this quickly and easily, I presume?" Sebastian asked, looking down at Claude with a slight smile on his face and a sneer on his lips.

Swiping his long, barbed tongue over his muzzle and whiskers, Claude grinned wide. "Well, if you want it to be quick and painless, then yes. Or, we could draw it out."

Switching back into his cat form, Sebastian whipped his tail around. "I don't like to go down without a fight." Letting out a ferocious snarl, he turned and sped off through the trees, Claude in hot pursuit, the dogs at his heels.

Being a cheetah mix, and adding that with being a demon, Sebastian could reach very high speeds. However, Claude was about as fast, and he was but a head behind the black and red cat. Growling in displeasure, Sebastian shot up a tree trunk and onto the branches, catapulting from branch to branch, looking as though he was flying through the air. Claude was quick to follow him, and Grell and Will stayed on the ground to pursue them, in case Claude should fall, they could quickly tear him apart.

"You are a fast one aren't you?" Sebastian called out to Claude. "Well, speed isn't everything." Suddenly switching his path, Sebastian made for a gap in the trees, falling gracefully to the clearing and taking off again, until he came to a huge canyon-like gap in the earth. This gap separated the edge of the Black Lands from the place where the loners and humans lived. A long time ago, during the war between the humans and the half-bloods, half-blood soldiers would have their strength and loyalty tested by having to jump this gap. Only the best, the bravest, and the most agile could make it across—the soldiers that did were highly regarded and were the most sought after.

Mustering all of his power, Sebastian kicked off the edge of the cliff, soaring over to the other side. It was no huge feat for him—he had jumped this gap many times, so many that he would sometimes simply do it for fun. It seemed as though Claude had not. The large half-blood skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff, hissing and roaring in frustration as he walked along the side.

"Can't do it can you?" Sebastian teased, rolling onto his back on the other side. "Oh well, I guess you'll have to stay there until the dogs rip you apart." Claude let out an angry hiss, and was answered by the loud baying and barking from Will and Grell, who were quickly catching up.

Claude spat a curse as the bear dogs made their way to him. Snarling, the two backed Claude up to the edge of the cliff. Just as it seemed as though they had him, the huge panther took a flying leap over Will and Grell's heads, landing about a yard behind them. Before the dogs could turn to chase him, Claude ran off into the woods.

Angry, Will turned to chase him. "Hey, wai—"

"Forget about him." Sebastian, returning from the other side of the gap, trotted over to the two and stood between them. "There isn't any need to pursue him—he's a lost cause."

Growling softly, Will nodded. Enraged over the loss of his prey, Grell paced back and forth. "He got away!"

"Calm down," Will murmured gently to Grell. "The next time we see him…he won't be getting away." Reluctantly, Grell sat beside them, letting his hackles fall back down and smooth against his back.

"Now, we must return," Sebastian sighed. "And alert the  _bocchan_ of Claude's presence."

Night couldn't have fallen quicker for Liz. The tiger quickly left the medicine den as soon as she deemed everyone would be sleeping. Usually, the cool night air calmed Liz's nerves when she was stressed, but now it only made her more unsettled as she searched for the gap. Reaching it, Liz easily jumped over it, landing on the other side.

Making her way across the desert-like ground, Liz reached the large hole she was looking for. She let out three short chuffs, and waited ten seconds. After the ten seconds, she was answered by three short hoots, and a large gray owl came up, his big orange eyes settling on her.

"Undertaker," she murmured softly, then leaned in close to him. "I've confirmed it." The owl ruffled his feathers in displeasure.

"I understand." The Undertaker replied, slowly blinking his large orange eyes. "Standby. Do not tell Ciel Phantomhive the part Claude Faustus played in his parent's murder."

"Undertaker!"

"It is for the boy's own good."

Hesitantly, Liz nodded. "Alright. Is that all you need to tell me?"

"For now." With that, the Undertaker dove back down into his hole, and Liz jumped back into the Black Lands.

"So you survived," Liz murmured to herself. "Claude Faustus."


	2. Calm before the Storm

**Chapter two**

 **Calm before the Storm**

Ciel was more than concerned, to say the least, about the encounter with Claude Faustus. To say the most would be saying that Ciel was just plain scared. He had no idea who this Claude character even was—the only thing he knew was that he was dangerous and that he was out to kill Sebastian, and possibly Ciel himself as well. He didn't know if Claude had someone behind him, or an entire army to carry out his dirty work. All he knew was that he needed to get someone to get the information he needed, and quickly.

The lucky half-bloods chosen to do so were Ronald, Will, and Sebastian; Sebastian because he had already faced Claude once, Will because of his tracking skills and Ronald because he could sneak into virtually anywhere and still be able to get out of it.

Sebastian wasn't all too thrilled to be working alongside Will again, and Will seemed to have tense feelings against the demon as well, but Ronald let it slip past him as he plunged into his work as a "spy." To him it was all just a game, which in this case was a good disposition to have.

Halfway into their expedition, Will stopped them. Catching a scent, he growled softly.

"What is it?" Ronald asked, slinking over to Will. The large cat's tail was twitching back and forth with a frenzied excitement, and his eyes were big and wide behind his glasses. "Did you get a scent?"

"Yes, Claude's scent," Will replied solemnly. "And not only his, but there is another scent…the two scents are almost identical, except one has a different, "sweeter" smell, if you want to put it that way."

Sebastian nodded. "So he isn't working alone…" he murmured, nervously pawing the ground now. He always had that sinking feeling that the panther was with someone else.

"I was thinking; if we follow the scents, then perhaps we could be led right to their camp. If we could find the base that they're working from, then we could take them out quickly and without much fuss."

"But still, this is a demon we're working with," Ronald chimed. "Don't you always say "Never underestimate a demon, no matter how dull they may seem?"" he asked, shaking his hindquarters in the air in a hunters crouch for emphasis.

"Don't repeat what I say," Will snapped the young cat, which jumped back like he had been swatted at.

"Geeze, no need to get all defensive about it," Ronald meowed, licking his paw.

"Will, Ronald, please," Sebastian hissed, tail lashing and ears pressed flat against his skull. "Try not to fight." Ronald just rolled his eyes and Will dropped his muzzle down to the ground, becoming intent with his tracking. Soon, the little group stopped at the edge of Black Lands territory leading into the mountains. Will stopped at the edge of the boarder and pawed nervously.

"The scents go over the border," Will said, looking over at Sebastian.

Sebastian frowned. "We should go on, but lay low and stick to the shadows. You never know if there's some kind of patrol or something."

Nodding, each of the three split into his own group, keeping to the heavily treed areas. Not having as keen of a scent as Will, Ronald and Sebastian followed the former bear-dog's lead, being careful as so not to alert the enemy of their presence.

Sebastian was suspecting that they were getting closer to the base by the many scents he picked up, and the half-blood quickly became uneasy. For the first time since he became Ciel's butler, he wanted to disobey an order—however, it was too late. He could see the base through the bushes.

"Ronald," Sebastian whispered, and Ronald's large yellow ears twitched in response. "Climb up into that tree and tell me what you can see." The excited young cat nodded, quickly turning and climbing up the nearest tree.

"There are lots of wolves," he noted. "And big cats. Lions, tigers, all kinds of stuff."

"How many?" Sebastian asked, noticing as the fur on Will's back and shoulders began to rise. He suspected that the bear-dog was probably remembering all the fights he had gotten into, and was preparing for another. Quickly reaching out and tapping the Labrador on the shoulder, he murmured, "We're not going to fight them yet. There are only three of us. Wait."

Will shifted uncomfortably at his touch and looked down, and Robert dropped almost silently to the ground. "I could see about 100, but there might be more."

"100?" Will whispered in disbelief, his large green eyes widening. "How could he get so many so fast?"

"We don't know how long he's been operating," Sebastian reminded Will. "This could have been going on for many years; but still, if he's been going on for that long, wouldn't there be more than 100?" He said, mostly to himself, but partially to the others. "Well, never mind that now. We have to get back to the  _bocchan_ and report this and see what he wants to do about it."

It was less than 30 minutes after Sebastian, Will, and Ronald had returned that Ciel made his startling announcement. They were to be launching an attack on Claude's base as a warning— _Stay away from us._ Since they didn't have much of an idea about how many half-bloods Claude really had, they were just going to take everyone, not including Lizzy and a small group left behind to protect the camp, however. The young half-blood had pitched quite a fit when she learned that she wouldn't be participating in the fight, until Liz had told her that she could be in charge of protecting the camp. That had kept the kid's mouth shut for a while, at least until the group could leave for battle.

Meeting up with Ciel just before they left, Sebastian's eyes were smudged with worry. " _Bocchan,_ do you really want to do this?" he asked.

"Do you want me to repeat an order?" Ciel growled softly, letting his small, thin claws slide out and scrape the ground.

Sebastian was silent, lashing his tail and looking at the ground. The small mane-like ridge of fur down his back and chest was all sticking straight up, a sign that the half-blood was agitated.

"Are you angry at me?" Ciel asked, noticing the rigidness of Sebastian's body.

"No," Sebastian replied. "Just…agitated. This "Claude" character worries me—he's not like any kind of rouge demon or just a regular demon. He has a reason behind his actions, and a plan. It feels as though he is connected to things bigger than us."

Ciel's ear twitched slightly at Sebastian's slightly philosophical words, but he shook away the aching thought at the back of his head that had been annoying him since he first heard about Claude. "Sebastian, this is an order. When we attack, I want you to take out Claude Faustus."

Sebastian didn't hesitate physically as he replied "Understood," but his mind was raging. It wouldn't be that easy, he knew. Ciel was underestimating Claude and overestimating himself. If things didn't go right, Ciel could walk right into a well-concealed trap. And unlike the other wire, rope, and cage traps, this would be a steel-tooth trap, one that would break his leg. As soon as he would try to move, another would catch his leg and snap that one too. Soon, he would only have one leg left.

And even that leg too would snap in time.


	3. The Questions

**Chapter four**

 **The Questions**

Sebastian groaned softly as he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was no longer in his cat form, which wasn’t surprising. Any time a half-blood passed out, their bodies switched into their other form. The second thing he noticed was that he was lying on a cot in the medicine den. He was curious as to how he got there, seeing how Ciel wasn’t strong enough to carry him, and Sebastian couldn’t have walked.

The last thing he noticed was that his left arm, chest, and forehead were wrapped in bandages, no doubt the work of Liz.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Liz chuckled softly, walking over to Sebastian. “You’re awake.”

Sebastian’s eyes flashed at her little joke, but he showed no other forms of agitation. “How long have I been here?”

“Two days,” Liz murmured, moving over so she could face the wounded demon. “I have to change the bandages and put more medicine on, now stay still.”

Sebastian did as she said, lying still, not attempting any movement. Her hands were swift and skilled as she worked; pulling the bandages off and gently re-applying more medicine before putting on new, clean bandages.

“Liz, who has been caring for my bocchan?” Sebastian asked curiously, wincing slightly as she ran her fingers across the bandages.

“I have,” Liz replied. “He hasn’t left the den since I carried you in here.” She motioned over to the spare cot in the corner where Ciel lied asleep, twitching every so often with his dreams.

Sebastian raised his head for a moment, and then lied back down. “How much longer do I have to stay here?”

“If you were a normal half-blood, I’d say 3 weeks. But, since you’re a demon . . . 3 days.”

“And what am I to do until then?”

“Rest.” Sebastian frowned angrily at her response, but Liz just laughed. “If you’re really desperate for work, you can help me an’ Lizzy with the other patients.”

Sebastian attempted to roll onto his back, wincing as he did so. Thinking about her offer, he sighed. “Fine.”

“Just be careful,” Liz warned him. “You don’t want to over work yourself before you’re ready.” Looking around, Liz’s eyes fell on the dark tunnel leading farther into the den. “Do you think you could follow me down there?”

Sitting up and flinching, Sebastian nodded. “Yes.”

“Follow me.” Liz switched into her cat form and paused by the tunnel, tail wagging from side to side slowly.  
Mustering his strength, Sebastian switched into his cat form, jumping off the cot to follow her. He moved at a slow, irregular pace, the bandages making it so that his left front leg was hard to bend and his back legs had to stay straight. With his awkward, rabbit-like movement, Liz thought he looked like one of the Manx kittens, but not nearly as fluffy or cute.

Making their way down the tunnel, they soon came to a huge cave-like space, filled with small, smooth pebbles. Liz and Sebastian descended down a hill of pebbles, making their way to the other wounded soldiers, who lie on hospital-like beds unlike the cots Liz used in her main den.

The cool, water-like scent of the large cave was new to Sebastian, yet it was almost calming. Soft. It reminded him of his days as a cub, when he used to romp and play with his older brothers and sisters. It reminded him his loving mother and father...of times long past...

A loud voicing of displeasure snapped the half-blood from is memories. Turning his head in the direction of the howl, Sebastian sighed as he realized who made it. It was Grell, howling loudly in pain.

“Aroo~!” the husky trilled, letting out a deep wail. “That hurts!”

“I know,” Liz sighed as she applied more medication to Grell’s deep scratches. “But lions have all kinds of nasty things in the grooves of their claws. It’s not your fault, and it’s not theirs. It just makes their scratches a hard thing to clean.”

Grell cried out in pain again, but he brightened as he noticed Sebastian. “Sebas-chan!” He woofed, wagging his tail. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Sebastian’s tail lashed back and forth, and he looked down. “Same.” Flinching, he sat down a bit awkwardly, spreading his back legs out in front of him and putting his front paws between them. “What happened to you?”

“Stupid lion clawed me deep,” Grell muttered, lifting up his foreleg to show the scratches. They still oozed a small amount of blood, but it wasn’t anything more than a few drops that littered his cream-colored chest. “It got my ears too, and my tail.” Grell flicked his ears and wagged his tail for emphasis. “And what about you? I only saw you pass out.”

Now slightly embarrassed that someone had seen his little episode, he turned so Grell could see the bandages. “They don’t hurt much,” Sebastian told him, lying down awkwardly. “They just make walking a real pain.”

Grell fell silent, and it was then that Sebastian noticed Will sitting at the husky’s side, his eyes cold and hard as he looked at Sebastian. Turning, he ran his long, soft tongue over Grell’s ears. “Do your ears still hurt?” Will asked, worry tingeing his voice.

“They’re fine,” Grell replied, looking over at him as Liz moved on to the next soldier. Sebastian could see the softness in Will’s eyes as he looked at Grell, and if he hadn’t known before, he knew then. Will was in love with the red-furred dog, even though it was obvious that Grell didn’t return his feelings. That was why Sebastian hated dogs. They tried over and over again to win the affections of the one they loved, even if they were trying for a lost cause. Many people thought of this to be perseverance, but Sebastian thought of it as disgusting. Who needed love? The demon half-blood had given up on love after his mother and father were killed. How could love exist in a world where people killed one another for the silliest reasons?

He was snapped out of his daydreams by a familiar voice calling out, “So you’re awake Sebastian.” Turning, Sebastian realized that it was Ciel, standing at the entrance to the cave. Making his way down the hill of pebbles, he reached Sebastian and grinned. “I was almost afraid you’d died and she’d buried you without me knowing.”

“Did you really have that little faith in me, bocchan?” Sebastian asked, faking curiosity as he tilted his head to the side, reddish-orange eyes sparkling.

Ciel clicked his tongue. “Of course not.” Sitting beside him, Ciel studied the bandages wrapped around Sebastian’s chest, torso, and forehead.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian mumbled softly. “I failed you.”

“You haven’t failed yet,” Ciel told him gently. “There will still be opportunities to kill Claude.”

Sebastian’s ears flicked back against his skull. “I know. Nonetheless…”

“You’re upset because you couldn’t do something you thought you could.” Ciel finished the sentence for the black and red cat.

Sebastian paused for a moment, before nodding. “Yes.”


	4. The First Attack

Chapter Three

The First Attack

Ciel crouched in the long, tall grass outside of the enemy camp. Sebastian crouched beside him, body still and alert, not making a single move. He didn’t even appear to be breathing—which was fine, because, him being a demon he didn’t need to breathe.

“Are we ready?” Ciel whispered, looking over at Sebastian. The half-blood nodded, looking over at him, his bright red eyes meeting Ciel’s solitary blue eye.

“Yes. May I have the honor for sounding the alarm?” He asked, lifting his head up a bit. Ciel nodded, and Sebastian parted his jaws and let out a surprisingly deep yowl for such a small-looking cat. The rest of the half-bloods surged forward, Ciel and Sebastian waiting to go in last.

“You know what to do,” Ciel told him, eye narrowing. “Get him.”

“Yes, my Lord,” Sebastian replied, zipping past the rest of the half-bloods to get to his target. The camp erupted into loud howls, yowls, hisses, and other unfriendly fighting noises. The rocks and ground was alive with squirming, writhing bodies. Sebastian searched the crowd, but was unable to find his target. Snarling, he raced through the mass of half-bloods, when two cool voices stopped him.

“My, my, my,” they said, completely in sync, as if they were one. “We weren’t expecting you today.” One of the figures showed himself, a blonde leopard with blue eyes. “You should have called ahead of time so we could make the reservations.”

Snarling, Sebastian whipped his tail around. “Where is he?” he growled lowly, thick black claws scraping the ground. “Tell me where he is, before I kill you too.”

“Looking for me?” Claude emerged from the same bushes that the leopard before him had, pausing in front of Sebastian. “I should have known you’d come back for me.”

“Enough with the small talk,” Sebastian hissed, ears flat against his skull. “My bocchan ordered me to kill you, and I intend to get this over with quickly.”

“Isn’t that what I said not an hour ago?” Claude asked, circling around Sebastian. “You should really try to come up with your own phrases, Sebastian. Well, it looks like we’re both out to kill each other, so. . . ” A sneer crossed Claude’s face. “Let’s let the games begin.” Claude roared and lashed out at Sebastian’s face, and the quick, nimble cat quickly dodged it and grabbed Claude’s outstretched paw, flipping him over and slamming him onto his back. Claude hissed in pain as Sebastian’s sharp teeth tug deep into his paw, causing scarlet red blood to flow from his torn paw and down his foreleg. Using his free paw, he sent a hard smack to the side of Sebastian’s head, causing him to let go and skid in the dirt, stopping next to a large tree. Claude ran at him again, trying to slam him into the tree, but Sebastian kicked off the back of it, using it like a springboard to jump over Claude and land behind him. Turning, he ran at Claude, head butting him in the ribs, causing him to go flying into a rock and lay under it, hissing in pain. Trotting over to Claude, he rested a paw on Claude’s stomach and leaned down to deliver the killing blow, when he felt terrible pain at the base of his spine. Standing behind him was the blonde leopard, Alois, teeth in Sebastian’s back, biting down hard.

“Back off,” Sebastian snarled, kicking Alois in the face. This caused the leopard to let go, snarling, blood dripping from his face from where Sebastian’s sharp, black claws met him. Still ready to attack, the leopard jumped on Sebastian’s back.

Mewling in surprise, this caused Sebastian to back up long enough for Claude to jump up, raking his claws down Sebastian’s side. The cat yowled in pain, quickly shaking Alois off. Alois jumped to Claude’s side, still bristling from his attack.

Not willing to give up, Sebastian ran at Claude again, teeth bared and head lowered, managing to get a few blows in before Claude raked his claws across Sebastian’s shoulder. The wounds stung and burned like fire, but Sebastian continued nonetheless. He attempted to separate Alois and Claude, but to no effect. Claude gave Sebastian a hard blow to the forehead, and the black and red cat stumbled back, blood clouding his vision. Closing his eyes, he shook the blood away, and in that split second Claude and Alois were gone.

Spitting a curse, Sebastian noticed that most of Claude’s warriors were also fleeing. Probably in pursuit of their no-good leader, Sebastian thought. Still remembering his order, Sebastian strained forward to follow, but his wounds would not allow him to go far. In severe pain, Sebastian collapsed in the dirt. The Black Lands army had won, but Sebastian had lost his target. He felt like a wolf after loosing a 12 point buck.

“Sebastian!” Ciel ran over to his downed butler, carefully lapping at his wounds. “Sebastian, what happened? You’re hurt. Are you okay?”

Sebastian’s ears twitched at the sound of Ciel’s voice. The sound was unnatural—it was as if Ciel was actually worried about him. “He got away.” Sebastian hissed in pain as his wounds throbbed. “I am sorry, bocchan. I tried to—”

“Never mind about that.”

“Bocchan, your order—”

“Forget about my order. You’re hurt, and if you go after Claude you’ll surely be killed.” Ciel nudged Sebastian. “Can you walk?”

Sebastian mulled over Ciel’s words for a moment, before nodding. “Yes.” He paused for a second, before heaving himself onto his paws, breathing heavily. Wincing, he started to fall back onto his side, but Ciel supported him.

“Come on, let’s go.” Sebastian moved slowly, wincing with every paw step. It hurt to move. Ciel stayed beside him, keeping the larger cat’s balance so he didn’t fall over. “Are you sure you can walk?”

Sebastian nodded, but his normally solid form was shaking. Red . . . there was so much red on his fur. The red clotted on his sides and legs, red in places where his tabby stripes weren’t. Unnatural red. Now, unable to support himself, he slid down and fell on his side, eyes half-slits. A sheet of black fell over the demon half-blood’s eyes, and he blacked out.

 _Red. There was red everywhere. Spread out on the cold, stone walls of the den and on the moss beds where his parents…his parents…_

 _The cub shrieked in fear and sadness as he saw what was before him. His father lay still, the brilliant bobcat’s head and shoulders lay slack, a deeper russet coloring his fur—not the beautiful, bold red of his normal fur. This was different._

 _“Father!” The cub ran to his still father’s side and shook his shoulder. “Father, wake up!” No response. The bobcat’s eyes were still open, even in death, pupils’ small within the wide pools of violet._

 _Looking around, the cub noticed the unmoving lump of black in the corner. Running over to it, he recognized the cheetah immediately. Red still flowed from her slit throat and the cub yowled in disbelief as she too was unresponsive. “Mother!” He couldn’t be there any longer. The cub turned and ran out of the den. His small legs were carrying him as fast as he could go, and salty tears flowed down the cub’s face. It was all red. Red. Red. Everything was bathed in that color he so despised._

 _Red . . . red . . . red . . ._


	5. In Which the Tiger Tells All

Chapter Five

In Which The Tiger Tells All

On the second day of Sebastian's stay in the medicine den, Liz surprised him with a strange question.

"Sebastian," she said while sorting herbs. "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

The cat in question had been bored watching her, and was beginning to go insane with his lack of work. With nothing better to do, he nodded. "Of course."

"It's about Claude."

"Oh?" Sebastian's eyes glittered as he looked over at her. He was now able to roll comfortably over on his back, and that's exactly what he did. For some reason, the upside-downness of it all helped him concentrate.

"You see, there is important information regarding Claude and the murder of Ciel's parents," Liz murmured. "Information that is not supposed to be leaked to Ciel. But, you know, keeping secrets from Ciel kind of hurts me—he's like a son, you know? Well, anyways, the truth is…Claude was the one who murdered Ciel's parents."

For a moment, it seemed as though time had stopped. Shaking off the initial shock, Sebastian stared wide-eyed at her. "And how am I supposed to know you aren't lying?"

"I was there when it happened," Liz said matter-of-factly. "And I tried to kill Claude as he escaped by starting a wildfire. That's what—"

"That's what burned down the mansion," Sebastian murmured, finishing the sentence for her.

"I was sure that he was burned to a crisp in the fire, but it seems as though I was wrong. That's why I never told Ciel who killed his parents, because I figured that Claude was dead. If only I had known…"

"If you know now, why aren't you allowed to tell him?" Sebastian asked out of pure curiosity.

"The Undertaker warned me not to tell him. He said, and I quote exactly, "It is for the boy's own good.""

 _And if Ciel knew this, and I was able to kill Claude, that means his wish would have been fulfilled and I would be able to take his soul…_ Sebastian thought to himself. "Well, that certainly is interesting," the mixed breed sighed, swatting at a shiny beetle as it passed him. The bug easily got away, and Sebastian sighed. "It seems like all of this "resting" has made me a housecat."

"No," Liz laughed. "You're just not trying."

Giving one of his signature smiles, Sebastian curled his tail tip over his nose and closed his eyes. Sleep wasn't needed for a demon; in fact, sleeping in a demon's world was viewed as simply laziness. But even Sebastian knew that sleep helps the body heal faster, even for demons. So he ended up letting himself drift off into the dream world, unconsciously wondering if his nap would bring about another nightmare.

Later that same afternoon, Ciel came to visit his butler. Finding him fast asleep, Ciel felt a slight smile twitch at the sides of his mouth. _He looks lovely when he sleeps…_ Ciel thought, but he quickly shook it away. Putting a gentle hand on the side of Sebastian's head, he noticed how truly soft his fur was, like the down on a gosling. Moving farther down, he could feel the roughness of the cotton blankets, and then the softness of his fur. On the part of his back that was showing, Ciel noticed, that the fur was more wiry and thicker than the rest of his fur. Realizing what he had done, Ciel blushed and removed his hand.

 _What am I thinking?_ Ciel thought to himself as Sebastian's back foot twitched. Stroking him like he was some kind of house pet. He's my butler, for goodness sakes! And he's a demon. There's no way…

"Well, well, well, you little sneak," Liz snickered, a mouthful of marigold in her jaws. Putting it in her herb supply, she grinned over at him. "Running in my den while I'm gone. Looking for more poppy?"

Embarrassed that someone might have seen his little act with Sebastian, Ciel rubbed the hand where the feeling of soft fur still remained. "N-no, I just came to visit."

"I saw everything," the brown and white tiger grinned, flopping onto her stomach. "By the way you touched him, I'd think you were in love with that cat or something."

Ciel's blush deepened as she said that. "I'm not in love with him," he hissed lowly. "He's my butler for God's sake! And he's a demon. It's not like he loves me—I'm just a meal for him."

"Oh really?" Liz let the same beetle that Sebastian was in pursuit of earlier slide across her claws like a jungle gym. "You sure about that?"

"I'm very sure!"

Liz wanted to say something else, but she kept her mouth shut. No need to keep beating a dead horse. Ciel had already made it obvious how much he cared for the half-blood, no matter how much he denied it.

Gritting his teeth, Ciel turned. "I have to go. Hunting patrol." With that, he slid out of the den, leaving Liz behind to simply chuckle at his ignorance.


	6. In Which Alois Traps Ciel

**Chapter six**

 **In Which Alois Traps Ciel**

As he travelled alone in the cool darkness of the forest, Ciel could only let the events that had just happened swirl around in his brain.

"Who does she think she is?" He snarled to no one in particular. His ears were pinned against his skull as he shuffled along the undergrowth. "Thinking she knows everything. Me being in love with Sebastian, that's the stupidest thing I've heard since I was told I was going to be betrothed to Lizzy!"

 _But maybe its true,_  a small voice inside of Ciel's head whispered.  _Maybe you do love the demon Sebastian Michaelis._

As Ciel desperately tried to understand the bubbling chemicals inside of him, he was unaware that he was being watched by two dark blue eyes from far above him. As Ciel passed a large oak tree, he heard a voice behind him;

"My, my, my." Ciel turned at the sound of the voice.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" As requested, a large blonde leopard leaped from the tree branch, landing in front of Ciel. Snarling, Ciel's ears flicked against his skull. "Are you Claude Faustus?"

Alois's high, light laugh echoed through the trees. "No. I'm his mate, Alois Trancy."

Ciel's small, thin claws scraped the ground. "So you're the one he's been working with?"

"You could say that. I don't fight much, but the battle plans are all mine." Grinning, Alois put a paw over his maw. "Oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Oh well, I guess that means you have to die now."

A slight tremor of fear went through Ciel, but he stood his ground. "Try me." The small cat quickly dashed through the larger cat's legs before Alois could get him. Ciel heard Alois snarl in anger as he turned to pursue him through the trees. Ciel kept going faster and faster, trying to lose the big cat behind him.

Soon, however, Ciel could see the large gap in the earth looming closer and closer to him. And behind him, the thuds of Alois's paws hitting ground were getting louder and closer. It was then that Ciel knew what Alois was doing—he was driving Ciel towards the edge of the cliff, thinking Ciel couldn't jump it. And even if Ciel tried to jump it, he knew he would most likely fail and end up dying anyway.

Ciel was caught in a steel trap.

Skidding towards the edge of the cliff, he turned to face Alois, who approached menacingly. The fur along Ciel's neck, spine, and tail was raised, but Alois only laughed.

"Do you actually think you could fight me? I'm too big, and you're too small. I could snap your neck with one smack of my paw," Alois purred, holding up one of his huge paws for emphasis. He began to loom closer, and Ciel trembled in fear. Was this all going to end now? Was he going to die?

Suddenly, there was a loud screech. A Great Gray owl came from seemingly nowhere, digging claws into Alois's neck, then letting go and flying off. Alois roared in pain and fury, lashing out at the bird as he nimbly flew away. The owl continued to dive bomb the large cat, splattering his blonde fur with bright red blood. Hissing, Alois narrowed his eyes at Ciel.

"You may have gotten away this time, but next time…" Alois let his threat hang in the air as he turned and jumped away before the owl could dive bomb him again.

Seeing that his job was done, the bird flew over to Ciel and perched on his shoulder. "Well, that wasn't too hard," he said, pruning the bloodied feathers off of his body.

"Undertaker!" Ciel breathed in relief. "Thank you. He would have killed me if you hadn't shown up."

"Oh please," the owl cooed, ruffling his feathers. "Don't flatter me."

Rolling his eyes, Ciel shrugged the owl off his shoulder. The Undertaker settled on the ground beside him. "I must be going now. He could head off towards camp," he mumbled, and started to walk off.

"Earl!" The Undertaker called after the tora-ge cat. Ears flicking, Ciel turned to face him. "I must warn you—do not underestimate Claude Faustus and Alois Trancy. They are very sly and are willing to do anything to kill you and that butler of yours, and will be the death of you if you're not careful."

Swishing his tail slowly from side to side, Ciel nodded. "Thank you for the advice." With that, he darted off into the trees, leaving the bird to his own business.

"You were  _what_?" Sebastian growled, tail lashing from side to side.

"I was ambushed," Ciel replied, blinking his one blue eye slowly. "By Alois Trancy."

Hissing in disbelief and anger, Sebastian paced back and forth, body rigid and all of his revealed fur sticking straight up. "Why, the nerve. If only I were there, I would have killed that brat!" Anger like this was uncharacteristic of Sebastian, but since he had been on edge ever since he woke up two days ago to find himself in the medicine den, the smallest things pushed him over the edge.

"Don't worry about it," Liz calmly told him, searching Ciel over for any wounds. "He didn't hurt Ciel, and that's final."

"But he could have! And I would have failed my duties—again," Sebastian spat in anger.

Reaching out, Ciel gently put a hand on the side of Sebastian's neck. "It's alright." Ciel felt the half-blood's muscles relax, and he pulled his hand away. Switching back into his human form, Sebastian settled on his stomach, eyes half-closed in thought.

What Ciel had done was strange for him. Usually, Ciel refrained from touching his butler—he only did it when he slapped him, and that was a rare occasion. But this touch had been gentle, like a mother cat drawing her kittens in to eat. It was unusual for the young boy, and unsettling for Sebastian to think about.

"Well Ciel," Liz declared, looking at the boy's hands and feet. "The only problem you seemed to have was a few scratches on your hands and feet. You'll live."

"Thank you," Ciel sighed, getting up and turning to leave.

"Oh, and while you're at it, take this," Liz muttered, grabbing Sebastian by the legs and dropping him in front of the unsuspecting Ciel. "It's time for him to go."

"Oh. Come on then Sebastian," Ciel murmured as the shaken demon got to his feet and let out an angry huff in Liz's direction, who answered with a snicker. Turning, the two made their way out of the medicine den, on a brisk pace towards the mansion.

That night, Ciel was unsettled. The events of the day kept him tossing and turning, unable to get the scene of Alois chasing him through the woods out of his mind.

"Sebastian!" Ciel called out, flopping against the bed. He heard the soft footsteps of his butler, and turned to see his gleaming red eyes against the blackness of the rest of his room.

"Yes,  _bocchan_?" He asked, standing beside the bed.

"Stay with me until I fall asleep." It was an unusual order for Ciel, but nonetheless…

"As you wish." Turning into his cat form, Sebastian leaped onto the bed, stretching out beside Ciel. He wrapped his arm around Sebastian, as if he were clutching a pillow close to his chest, and closed his eyes. Unusually, Sebastian found himself purring like a motorboat. It had been a long time since he remembered purring without sad memories. Gently nuzzling Ciel's chin, he grinned.

"Sleep well, my boy."


	7. In Which A Secret is Learned

**Chapter Seven**

 **In Which A Secret is Learned**

"Sleep well, my boy."

 _My boy…my boy. . ._ The words echoed around in Ciel's skull as he entered through the gates of dreamland.  _Where have I heard that before?_ Suddenly, his dream became clear. He was lying beside a warm body, creamy yellow and white fur surrounding him. His mother, his young beloved mother; how sweet her scent was…how grand.

"Do you remember?" A voice cooed. Ciel attempted to lift his head, but he found it impossible. Frightened, he tried to yowl out a cry for help, but found his jaws unresponsive to his brain's signals. "When this was all taken away from you?"

The image changed. Now he was looking at his dreams from an above view, and he watched helplessly as a black shadow moved into the mansion. It was like watching a movie—he wanted desperately to cry out to his parents, to wake them, but everything was already decided. First, it was his father's cries he heard, then his mother's. Again, he tried and failed to move, and the voice chuckled behind him. "You alone were spared young boy. But were you really spared? Or only doomed?"

Now, he could see the black figure. He couldn't tell what it was—it was only a shadow. There were no eyes, no face. He could only imagine that the shadow was looking down at his young form as he still slept in his bed. The creature spat, and flung itself out the window, quickly running from the scene. Not long after, he could smell the flames. The flames of his burning mansion. Ciel watched as his younger self awoke at the terrifying scent, then raced to his parents burning rooms.

"Mother!" They both cried out in unison. "Father!" Ciel kept repeating the screams, tears rolling down his face. He never wanted to see this scene again, he never wanted to feel the same fear…

" _Bocchan_ ," a worried voice called, waking Ciel from his dream. He could feel the tear stains on his cheeks where he had probably been crying. Sebastian's eyes were furrowed with slight worry as he looked down at the frightened boy. "Are you alright? You were screaming in your sleep."

"It was a nightmare." He sat up, causing the cat to shift and move so Ciel could be comfortable. "I'm hungry."

"Breakfast is waiting for you in the dining hall," Sebastian replied, jumping from the bed and shaking out his black and red fur. "Will you come and join the others, or shall I bring it here?"

"I'll come." He waited as Sebastian switched quickly into his human form, bringing out Ciel's outfit for the day and beginning to take off his nightgown. As soon as he was dressed, Ciel followed Sebastian down into the dining hall, where most of the main Black Lands residents already were. As usual, Ciel sat at his own table at the front of the room, eating away at his breakfast, a poached salmon. As much as he tried to stay away from his cat side, he always had a taste for fishy things and meaty things, nothing uncommon to the half-bloods. Ciel, however, wished he wasn't a half-blood—he wished he could just be a normal human, but that would never happen.

"Ah, Ciel!" Ciel turned as he heard Liz's welcoming voice, and she patted him on the head. "Did you have a nice sleep?"

"I was fine." He plucked her hand off of his head. "Would you  _please_ attempt to refrain from doing that?"

In a mocking sad, teary, woe-is-me English girl accent, Liz replied, "I'm *sniff* sorry my dear Ciel, please *sniff* forgive me?"

"Oh, stop that." Ciel smirked, taking a bite of his salmon. "You have a terrible accent."

"I'm supposed to. English accents, especially girl's, drive me up a wall."

"Is that why you hate Lizzy so much?"

"No. Well, that's one reason. She's also an annoying, snotty, stuck up, nuisance of a girl. I like the flies that sit on my food better than her. They make better pets."

Ciel managed a small smile as Liz pranced away, tail swishing back and forth.

"She must have quite the sense of humor to make you smile," Sebastian noted, smirking a bit. "A very special girl, is she not?"

"You could say that." Ciel soon found himself finished with his breakfast, and he pushed the plate away. Sebastian took the plate away to be cleaned, and Ciel sighed lightly, still brooding over his nightmare. The dark figure seemed so close, and he felt as though he  _knew_ who it was.

 _The evidence is right under my nose,_ Ciel thought angrily.  _It's right there, I know it is! All I have to do is find it._

As soon as Sebastian returned, Ciel stood. "I'm going for a walk. Come with me," he said, turning and heading for the exit. Sebastian nodded and followed him, like a faithful shadow.

 _Shadow…_ Ciel thought as they moved out of the hall and into the new sun.  _Could that be a sign? He follows me like a shadow…and the murderer in my dream was just a shadow…no, it couldn't be. Sebastian couldn't have been there, I hadn't summoned him yet._ The fact that Sebastian wasn't the murderer seemed to relieve Ciel a bit…but why? Why was he relieved by that? Was he really worried that his butler was murderer?

"You seem to be very distant today,  _bocchan_ ," Sebastian noted, easily keeping stride with the younger boy. "Are you still troubled by the attack?"

"No," Ciel murmured, looking down. "I'm fine. Don't worry so much, Sebastian. I can handle my troubles on my own."

The demon gave a sad little smile as they continued on, falling silent as Ciel gazed through the trees. Spotting a butterfly, Ciel thought to himself,  _Oh, how nice it would be to live a life without troubles. How nice it would be to simply forget about everything else and relieve myself for a while, without worry of being ambushed or to have assassination attempts on you every other day. To be as carefree as a butterfly, worrying only when a small bird comes by, or a cat, or perhaps even a dog. To be free to wander anywhere you want, sipping nectar out of flowers._

"You thought perhaps I was the one in your dream." Ciel was snapped back into real life as he noticed that he and Sebastian were standing on a hill, Sebastian turned to face him. He could see across the entire Black Lands territory from this point—he wasn't quite sure what caused his feet to bring him here though.

"H-how did you—how would you?"

"Do you take me as stupid? The signs were obvious."

Ciel bit his lip. He had nothing to say to that as he looked out across the land.

"I assure you, even though I used to murder when I was young, there was no way I could have killed your parents. I was still in the demon world."

"You used to murder?" This came as a surprise to Ciel as he looked at his butler with wide eyes.

"Yes. I was very…mentally unstable after my parents were killed." There was a gleam of sadness in Sebastian's eye as he spoke, looking out at the sun-tinted land. "The circumstances drove me insane. I was determined to punish the one responsible, but since I could not find him…I took to killing. It made me feel better that others would feel the same pain as I."

Ciel was quiet for a few moments, before turning his eyes back to the land. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Unknowingly, he leaned against Sebastian's side, slightly entwining his fingers with the demon's larger ones.

"Yes." And it was there they stood for a while, looking silently across the horizon.

Meanwhile, at Claude's headquarters, the large black panther paced angrily in front of his den.

"The nerve! I can't believe that creature attacked you!" he growled, turning to Alois and nuzzling him. "Don't worry Alois, I won't let them ever hurt you again."

Alois purred softly as Claude's long, rough tongue cleaned his scratches. "Claude, I wasn't hurt very badly."

"That doesn't matter," Claude replied, turning into his human form. He started to walk to his den, but Alois stopped him, placing his small hands on Claude's dense shoulders.

"You're so tense," Alois murmured, rubbing small circles on his shoulder blades. "You need to relax." The smaller blonde boy slipped in front of Claude, leaning up and pressing his lips to Claude's. If he was going to say anything, he stopped, letting Alois's tongue brush up against his lips. Pulling away from him for a second, Alois grinned.

"I know just how to help you."

Hours later, the two lay beside each other in Claude's bed, Alois's steady breathing in the only noise in the room. Planting a soft kiss on Alois's warm forehead, Claude smiled.

"Sleep well, my love. We have a big day tomorrow."


End file.
